MACA Events

CAC-MDT Training Summit

The Massachusetts Children’s Alliance remains committed to providing cutting-edge training for Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) staff and Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) members across the Commonwealth. Our annual CAC-MDT Training Summit serves as a gathering space where MDT partners sharpen their skills, strengthen collaboration, and renew their shared commitment to protecting children.

This year’s summit, held on October 23, 2025, featured three intensive workshops. Each was offered during the morning and afternoon sessions to maximize access for all attendees. Topics and presenters included:

  • Manipulation & Grooming in Child Abuse Investigations, led by Bradley Graham, MS, Senior Investigator for the Washington State Attorney General’s Office Sexually Violent Predator Unit. This session equipped investigators with the tools to identify grooming techniques used to manipulate children and caregivers, and to effectively explain those dynamics in both criminal and family court hearings.
  • When Child Sexual Victimization Meets Technology, presented by Michael Galantino, JD, former Deputy District Attorney and Chief of the Special Victims/Domestic Violence Division in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Galantino guided participants through the ways offenders exploit technology and how digital evidence can be leveraged to secure convictions.
  • Child Labor Exploitation and Trafficking, presented by Amy Farrell, PhD, Director of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice and Co-Director of the Violence and Justice Research Lab at Northeastern University. This workshop offered a comprehensive look at child labor trafficking in Massachusetts, an often misunderstood form of exploitation, and explored the unique vulnerabilities that place children at risk across industries.

Participants engaged in meaningful discussions and practical exercises designed to enhance investigative strategies, improve MDT cohesion, and ensure the safety and well-being of child abuse victims.

Our MDT Training Summits continue to serve as an essential resource for child advocacy professionals, fostering collaboration across the MDT and renewed commitment to the protection of children across the Commonwealth.

15th Annual Statewide Conference

The Massachusetts Children’s Alliance marked a landmark milestone by hosting its 15th Annual Statewide Conference, Healing, Hope & Justice: An Advanced Conversation, bringing together more than 300 child abuse professionals from across Massachusetts. Attendees included law enforcement, prosecutors, forensic interviewers, victim-witness advocates, mental health and medical providers, Department of Children and Families investigators, and Children’s Advocacy Center staff — all united in their dedication to advancing the response to child abuse.

“The conference was well put together. This was my first time experiencing the MACA conference. I heard several positive remarks about the conference before my attendance. The venue and food were excellent. This conference allowed for a great networking opportunity with others within the state.”

Keynote: The Emerging Face of Male Sexual Trauma in Popular Culture

This year’s keynote address was delivered by Rick Goodwin, MSW, RSW, a nationally recognized clinician, manager, and trainer on men’s mental health, whose 25 years of work has centered on male sexual trauma. Using cinematic depictions as a lens, Goodwin challenged attendees to confront the silences that have long surrounded male-identified survivors and to reimagine how professionals hold space for every survivor’s truth, voice, and healing journey. His presentation wove together first-person narrative, trauma theory, and gender discourse to spark a powerful and necessary conversation.

“This was my first MACA conference, and I was surprised at how outstanding it was. I had heard good things before attending, and now I know why.”

One with Courage Award: Lisa Goldblatt Grace

At this year’s conference, MACA was proud to present the One with Courage Award to Lisa Goldblatt Grace, former Co-Executive Director of My Life My Choice, a groundbreaking initiative of Justice Resource Institute (JRI). This award honors individuals whose unwavering dedication and advocacy have profoundly shaped the Commonwealth’s response to child abuse and exploitation.

For more than three decades, Lisa has worked alongside marginalized young people in roles spanning direct service, public health, and systems-level reform — leading a shelter for unhoused teen parents, developing juvenile diversion initiatives, and building a nationally recognized continuum of survivor-led, trauma-informed services. Since its founding in 2002, My Life My Choice has provided prevention programming, direct services, and advocacy that have influenced practice and policy at the national level. Lisa’s impact, resilience, and courage embody everything the One with Courage Award represents.

Annual Conference Workshop Highlights

The conference featured three full sessions of specialized workshops, covering some of the most pressing and complex topics in the child advocacy field today, including the following:

  • Developing digital safety, empathy, and mindfulness in the age of AI, deep fakes, and wearable technology
  • Trauma-informed engagement of high-risk and commercially sexually exploited youth disconnected from systems
  • Immigration rights and best practices for serving immigrant families
  • Safety planning for children with sexual behavior problems and sibling sexual abuse
  • The intersection of rural communities and familial child trafficking
  • Improving the clinical and legal response to trafficked transition-age youth
  • Updating internet safety messaging to address sextortion and generative AI

Through these sessions, attendees engaged in advanced, candid conversations about emerging threats and evolving best practices — leaving equipped with concrete tools and a deeper capacity to serve the children and families who depend on them.

“Excellent conference — thank you, MACA! The breakout session choices were excellent, and it was hard to choose! Luckily, you must have predicted that because some of the sessions were offered twice — I love that strategy!”